Vending machine



March 30 1926. 1,578,986 C. G. GRAVES VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1925 s sheets-sheet 1 l l v1,578,986 c. e. GRAVES I vnmns MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet. 2

March 30 ,-1 1926.

@brom way?? C. G. GRAVES VENDING MACHINE March 3o 192e. f 1,578,986

' Filed Dec. 12, 1923 .'5 Sheets-Sheet 5 61H01 wmf@ To'aZZ whom t may concern:- i

Patented Mar. 30, 1926. v

' UNITEDSTATES:

CARLES GREENV GRAVES, or0111135@i .(iQl/'Ef -IOUJISIANAC' .i

vENnnve MACHINE.

Application ledDeceinber 12, 1.923. Serial No;'680,205. j

Be it known that I, CHARLES Cedar Grove, in the parishof Caddo and State of Louisiana, have inventedv a new and useful Vending Machine, of `which the fol-y lowing is a specication. Y v Y This invention aims to provide novel means whereby bottles or other merchandise maybe dispensed, subject to a coin-controlled mechanism, and -theinvention aims to provide ai novel coin-control.'"Another object of this invention is to improve the delivery mechanism. A further object of the invention is to supply' novel'means whereby a proper cooperation betweenv the coin-control land fthe delivery ,v mechanism is `secured.

y It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generallyv and to 'enhance the utility of the devices of lthat type yto-which the invention appertains. l l Withthe above andr other objects in'view, which will'appear asV the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement Aof parts and in the details of construction Vhereinafter described and claimed, it "being understoodthat changes in the Aprecise embodiment Vof theinvention shown, can be made,withoutdeparting from the spirit of theinvention." Y f In the drawings: Figure j1 shows in vertical section, .a device constructed in accordance withthe invention; Figure 2 is .a section on the' line 2 2 of'Figure V1; Figure 3 is a; horizontal Vsection'lon the line 3-3 'of Figureh'2; Figure 4 is a top plan; Figure' is a perspective view showing` one of the stops.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a box-like .frame or casing lxhaving a verticalpartition 2 which is cutaway as at 3 to receive an ice box il. If thev nature of the. merchandise is such that it does not require to bek cooled, then, the `ice box 4 Y ma be dispensed'with.

n one of the upper corners of the frame 1,

a drive shaft 5 is'journaled, thedrive shaft being operatedby a crank 6 or in any other suitable way.- There is a sprocket wheel 7 on the shaft 5. A sprocket 1wheel 8 is dis posed opposite to the sprocket wheel at the top oi the casing 1,' and iscarried by a shaftl {ournaled in the'casing 1. yBelow the ,sprecke wheel, 8 al sprocketwheel lois disposedtthe same being carried shaft l1 .and the` dooris adapted to'l move.y

Vjournaled inthe frame for casing 1. A G. 'GnL-ivns Y a citizen of the United States, residing `at sprocket wheel 12 `is .located below the sprocket wheel 7 and is carriedy by a shaft 111 journaled 'in the 'frame About the sprocket wheels 7, 8,"10 and12,an endless conveyor chain 15 vis trained, the conveyor chain .having projectinglingers 16.y Y v A receptacle 17 is mounted von ther top of the iframe land has a hingedlid 18 which may be held closed by va lock-19. Ay guide frame 1 and is adapted to engage theA fingers :PATENT@Finca -wing 20 is hinged at 21%to the top of the.,

16 ofthe conveyorchainl.'v Thewing20`;

cooperates with thelfingers 16 o-thevco'n yopening V23 ydiscl'1ar: ;ing into a .projectingvv tray 2K1-, theopening 23 being controlled'by avdoorr25 which is vertically' slidable'in the partition 2 and in one side wall 'of the frame 1. A lever 26 is fulcrumed intermediate yits ends, as at 27, on the frame 1. The lever 26 kveyor chain 15 to govern the :passage of the v is pivotally connected with the upper edge .l

of the door 25, the partition 2-havinga slot" f 2S in which the connectionfbetween the lever y The inner end Aof' the lever-26` 'sunite'ch a pin 'andslot' connection '29, with "aT verti.v cally? movable plunger 30, I sl-idably mounted in lthe top' ofthe; frame "1" andfin-zguidesl located withinithetfraine.' `Atitsj upper end, theplunger 80 is provided with a button V3.2.

A compression spring isprovided, for the raising of theplunger 30A the spring'being Y interposed between the ower -endV of Ythe `plunger and abrackett mounted on .one

sidewall or the frame 1. The plunger 3() includes an angular'arm 35, the vertical pore tion oi' which isslidable in'guides 36 on the 'ramefl.y The upper end of the arm 35 ot the plunger 30 engages beneath a pawl?, pivotally mounted at 38 on the casing 17 the free end of the pawl beingadapted to cooperate with a stop wheel 39 on theshaft 5. The plunger 30 is provided ononesidewith a shoulder 4:0. y' 'The inwardly'projectingfend 4&1 (Figure of a coin-controlled lever i-k2 .is adapted to coopera-te with theshoulder-AQ. in .the plunger 30, The coinfcentrolled.1eve1; 42- is so constructed that the inner endf('f*iig"A ure 1)" tends vto swing downwardly, by grew p Y ity, toward the plunger 30, downward movement of the inner end of the lever 42 being limited by a stop 43 secured to one sidewall of the frame 1. cooperates with the inner surface (Figure 8) of the'coin-controlled lever 42. The coinholding lever 44 has an end flange 45, ex-

t-ended across the adjacent extremity of coin-A AThe levers 44 and 42y 1. The upper end of the stop 47 is markedA by the numeral 48 and the stop has a shoulder 49 located below the upper end of the stop. The coin-holding lever 44 is so constructed that its right hand end (Figure 1.) tends'to swing downwardly by `gravity until that end of the lever rests (Figure 2) on the upper end 48 (Figure 5) of the stop 47 .v -Under the action of a coin (Figure 1) the right hand en-dof the lever 42 is adapted to swing downwardly into engagement with the shoulder 49 on the stop 47.

The inner end of the coin-holding lever 44 extends beneath a later projection 50 on the plunger 30. A coin-chute 51 is mounted .inthe to-p of the frame 1 and -discharges downwardly on the lever. 42, between the coin-holding lever 44 and the adjacent wall of the frame or casing l.

In practical operation, the coin moves downwardly thro-ugh the chute 51 and engages 'the coin-controlled lever 42 between the coin-holding lever 44 and the adjacentwallof the'frame 1. The coin rolls to the right in 'Figure 1 until the coin strikes the end flange 45 of the coin-holding leve-r 44. The right hand endof the lcoin-controlled lever 42 then swings downwardly until it strikes the shoulder 49 on the stop 47the.

left `hand end'- (Figure l) vof Vthe'coin-controlled lever or latch moving out of engagement with the Vshoulder40 on the plunger 30. The plunger 30 now is set free so that' it may be pushed downwardly, through the instrumentality of the button 32, the spring 33 being compressed. When the plunger 30 moves downwardly, the projection 50 on the plunger, cooperating with th-e left hand end of the coinholding lever 44 (Figure 1),

swings the left hand end of the lever 44Y downwardly and raises the right hand end r of the lever sothat theend flange 45 of the lever 44 no longer retains the coin on the lever 42. VThe coin, thereupon, rolls off the lever 42. The left hand end (Figure 1) of the coin-controlled lever or latch 42V .swings downwardly by gravity and bears againstvthe edge lofthe depressed plunger 30, above the shoulder 40.

When the plunger 30 moves downwardly, as aforesaid, the lever 26 is. tilted on its fulcrum 27, and the door 25 is raised, one

A coin-holding lever 44 moves downwardly also, and the pawl 37 swingsdownwardly on its pivotal mounting 38, V'the pawl engaging the stop wheel 39 on the shaft 5. The stop wheel and the pawl 37 cooperate to hold the shaft 5 against rox tation and,l consequently, motion cannot be imparted to the conveyor 15 ,by way ofthe sprocket wheel'7. This feature prevents the operatorv from obtaining more than one bottle when a single coin is delivered. y

When the downward pressure on` the plunger 30 is released, the spring 83 raises the plunger, and the levers 42 and 44 assume the position shown in Figure 1, the inner end of the coin-controlled lever or latch 42 cooperating with the shoulder 40 on the plunger 30 to prevent the plunger lfrom being thrust downward until another coin is deposited into the chute 51. When the plungerv 3() moves upwardly, the arm `85 'on the plunger raises the pawl 37 out. ofengagement with the stop wheel V39, and the shaft- 5 is set free for rotation. f v

Whilst the parts are arranged as yshown in Figure 1, and prior-to the depositing of the coin in the coin chute, the operator gives the shaft 5 a few turns, by way of the crank 6,-to insure the raising of one of the bottles into Vsuch a position that it will rest yagainst. the door 25 as shown in connection with the uppermost dotted bottle at the left hand side of Figure 1.

yWhen the rotation is imparted to the shaft 5 by way of the crank 6, the bottles, having been delivered between the fingers 16 of the conveyor chain 15, from the receptacle 17 by way of the hinged wing20, are carried downwardly along the right hand end of the casing 1 (Figure 1,) and, thence, are carried .y

along the bottom of the casing and upwardly along the opposite end of the casing, to position one of the bottles for delivery through the opening 23, as aforesaid, whenY the door `25 is raised by the operation of the lever 26. y

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a casing, a door mounted for right-line sliding movement on the casing, a drive shaft journaled on the easing,4 an endless conveyor driven by the shaft and so positioned as to deliver an article at the door, a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends on the casing, one end of the lever 4being directly connected to the door, a plunger slidable in the casing and disposed about parallel to the line of reciprocation of the door, the other .end of the lever being directly connected to the plunger, the plungerbeing movable inone ipv/8,986

the shaft, a pawl pivoted tothe casing and coacting with the stop Wheel to hold the shaft against rotation when the door is opened, the plunger comprising a part which engages the paWl to Vdisengage thepaWl from the stop Wheel When the plunger is moved in an opposite direction, and spring means for moving the plunger in the last-specified direction, thereby to close the door and disengage the paWl from the Wheel.

2. In a device of the class described, a casing, a door mounted for rightfline sliding movement on the casing, a drive shaft journaled 0n the casing, an endless conveyor driven by the shaft and so positioned as to deliver an article 'at the door7 a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends on the casing, one end of the lever being directly connected to the door, a plunger slidable in the casing and disposed about parallel to the line of lreciprocation' of the door, the other end of the lever being directly connected to the' plunger, the plunger being movable in one Vdirection to open the door, a stop Wheel on the shaft, a paWl pivotedy at one end -to the casing, and c-oacting at its other end With the stop Wheel to hold the shaft against rotation vvlien the door is opened, the plunger -comprising an offset arm which engages the paWl intermediate the ends of the pavvl to disengage the pawl from the stop Wheel when the plunger is movedin an opposite direc-tion, and spring means for moving the enne. GREEN GRAVES. 

